January 27, 2014 — As the non-profit organization Oceana has put it: “Recent studies have found that seafood may be mislabeled as often as 25 to 70 percent of the time for fish like red snapper, wild salmon, and Atlantic cod, disguising species that are less desirable, cheaper or more readily available.”
Seafood fraud has been documented in recent years by newspapers, Consumer Reports and others.
And now two senators want the Obama administration to do something about it.
Sen. Edward Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts, and Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican, wrote last week to President Barack Obama urging action on seafood fraud.
“This fraud is ripping off consumers,” they wrote, “posing health risks by disguising species that may be harmful for sensitive groups, and harming our oceans by making it easier for illegally caught product to make its way into the U.S. market.”
A big part of the problem, according to a 2009 report by the Government Accountability Office, involves a lack of coordination and communication by three agencies most responsible for seafood inspections: the Food and Drug Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Customs and Border Protection. (It may only add to the confusion and inefficiencies to note that the Department of Agriculture has jurisdiction over catfish.)
Read the full opinion piece at the Kansas City Star